SchansBlog

Thanks for coming! I plan to post a lot of interesting articles and comment on a wide range of things-- from political to religious, from private to public, from formal writing on public policy to snippets on random observations.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

intro to Exodus

Overview/Framework of Exodus:

Alec Motyer points to Israel:

a.) in Egypt (1:1-13:16)—the saving Lord;

b.) at Sinai (13:17-24:11)—the covenant Lord; and

c.) around the Tabernacle (24:12ff)—the indwelling Lord.

He also notes a chiasm in the structure of Exodus: Building for Pharoah vs. God (chs. 1-5, 35-40); Lamb of God vs. Golden Calf (6-12, 32-34); and Companion God vs. Indwelling God (13-18, 25-31)—all centered around the Grace and Law of God (19-24)

The theology of Exodus includes revelations about…

1.) His Name: Yahweh—“I AM” (3:14)

2.) His Salvation: as Redeemer/Rescuer/Savior (6:6, 15:13; Ch. 12's Passover; and a key OT theme as a picture of God's grace, sovereignty, power, especially in the face of injustice and oppression). For the believer, it serves as a picture of being freed from bondage (Justification; Jn 1:29; I Cor 5:7) and setting out for the Promised Land (Sanctification).

Combining Ex 3:14’s Name of God and Ex 12’s Passover Lamb, Motyer observes the revelation of the same combo in the NT at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry—at his baptism—when the Trinity has its first plain revelation and is bracketed by John the Baptist’s two references to Jesus as “the Lamb” (Jn 1:29,36).

Note other parallels as well:

-Israel is identified as God’s “firstborn son” (Ex 4:22)

-in Matthew, Jesus is also threatened with genocide (2:12,16); journeys into and out of Egypt (2:13-15); travel to the Jordan (vs. Red Sea); time in the Wilderness with the absence of food and water; putting God to the test (Ex 17:2; vs. not—Mt 4:7); and failure vs. success at the mountain (Ex 32 vs. Mt 4:8-10).

--> Motyer: “Exodus is the story of the son of God who stands in need of salvation, failing at every point of life and even of privilege; Matthew tells of the Son of God who brings salvation (Mt 1:21), perfect and righteous at every point and in every circumstance and test.”

3.) Other attributes:

In Genesis, God as

a.) Creator—sovereign over nature;

b.) moral judge; and

c.) covenant maker.

To compare/contrast these themes in Exodus:

a.) miracles: more than any other OT book—most importantly, to show Himself as a single God with universal sovereignty (9:16). He reiterates his sovereignty over nature, but in the context of depicting His sovereignty over history. (Without the latter, a God of Creation results in deism.) As Sarna notes: “History is the arena of divine activity…the product of God’s providence, conditioned by human response to his demands…the unfolding of God’s grand design…It is no wonder that the Exodus is the pivotal event in the [OT] Bible.”

b.) holiness: Here, we see the origins of the (formal) law—and with the Sinai covenant, the foundation of Biblical ethics and morality (the 10 C's and other categories of law: mitzvah, hok, mishpat). God’s zealous/active holiness is depicted by fire (Ex 3’s bush, Ex 13-14’s pillar, Ex 19’s on top of Mt. Sinai, Ex 40’s over the tabernacle).

4.) Working with a man/family in Genesis-- and now, a nation: Pharaoh is the first to call them a “people” (1:9; only translated by the NIV for Egypt, not Israel; narrator uses “Israelites” in 1:7); later in Exodus, called nation (goy), congregation (kahal), and community (udah). As such, “politics enters the narrative, center-stage…”—and so, we find a huge emphasis on justice, freedom, and rule of law; sanctity of life and human dignity; use and misuse of power. As an aside, Sacks argues that Pharaoh is more political than evil (vs. Haman, Amalekites; Dt 23:7 vs. 25:17-19).

5.) A theology of worship: putting time, talent, and treasure into building the tabernacle—where God “dwelt” among his people (Ex 25-30,35-40). The NIV Study Bible: "God is not only mighty on Israel's behalf; he is also present in their midst." Here, we find the beginning of the priesthood and prophet roles. And it’s interesting that law and worship are combined.

In sum, the NIVSB: Exodus is an "account of redemption from bondage leading to consecration in covenant and the pitching of God's royal tent in the earth, all through the ministry of a chosen mediator, discloses God's purpose in history-- the purpose he would fulfill through Israel, and ultimately through Jesus Christ the supreme Mediator."

And Motyer: “Exodus begins the normative OT (and biblical) revelation of God’s way of salvation; it underlines the nature of God as holy and of humankind as sinners; it explains the meaning of blood and sacrifice; it is a book of grace which reaches down from heaven and of the law which teaches redeemed sinners to live in heavenly terms. While some of these great biblical truths are foreshadowed in Genesis, Exodus pulls them all together, giving them a shape and definition that the rest of the Bible will not alter.” (see also: p. 11-12)

Finally, we have an Intro to the Main Character: Moses. A Hebrew boy, a life saved by grace, a prince under Pharaoh, an outcast in the desert, a servant of God, and a type of Christ—as a deliverer (Jn 5:46). It’s interesting that the two largest gaps we have in Biblical history are inter-testamental times (pre-Christ) and pre-Moses.

LaSor notes that Moses "dominates the Pentateuchal narratives from the 2nd chapter of Exodus to the last chapter of Deuteronomy. Throughout the OT, he is portrayed as the founder of Israel's religion, promulgator of the law, organizer of the tribes in work & worship, and their charismatic leader through the deliverance, covenant at Sinai, and wilderness wanderings, until Israel was poised to enter the promised land from the Plains of Moab."

We covered chapter 1 last Sunday. I hope to post on that soon. We hope to see you on future Sunday evenings!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

our trip to NY (2011)

We just got back from our second annual big vacation. Last year, we went to NC; this year, we went to NY. We hit most of New York, except for the City. Ten days and nine nights (all in different hotels; we thought about camping, but didn't get organized for it). About 2,100 miles, much of it on the first day and the last two evenings. NC was nice; this was better.

Day 1: from Louisville to Sandusky, including BibleWalk (a Bible wax museum) in Mansfield and some time at a beach on Sandusky Bay. I had hoped to see the Memorial Museum in Mansfield, but they have limited hours. (In 2012, my friend Bruce and his family visited the prison there-- and said it was interesting.)

Day 2:Cedar Point-- a terrific amusement park, especially if you like roller coasters. Favorites: MaxAir and Millennium Force. Most unique: Dragster (0 to 117 mph in 3.5 seconds; straight up and then straight down-- crazy, but it's all over in 17 seconds).

Day 3: Saw the largest covered bridge in the world (near Austinburg, OH), passed up the amazing beaches at Presque Isle (near Erie, PA; we wanted to get to Niagara Falls ASAP, given the holiday weekend), visited a very cool kazoo factory (the original) in Eden, NY, and did a bunch of the things-to-do at Niagara (Maid-of-the-Mist, Aquarium, Discovery Center, Cave-of-the-Wind) and walked around on Goat Island to get our best views of Horseshoe Falls. MM and CW are a must-do; the kids (esp. Joseph) liked the aquarium; and the adults really liked the DC (a museum of sorts).

Niagara is beautiful in an awesome way-- like the Grand Canyon. In contrast, the canyons at Bryce, Zion, and DeChelly are more-- or at least differently-- beautiful, in a more intimate sense. Likewise, we would see this sort of beauty later in the trip, at Watkins Glen.

Day 4: Niagara cont'd, including the IMAX and an excellent hike down to the river's edge at the Whirlpool State Park. Then, leaving the area, we visited Lockport and saw the Erie Canal-- in particular, Locks 34 & 35-- in action. From there, we drove to Alexandria Bay and the 1000 Islands.

Day 5: Maze-land (very fun, especially if you have kids), the amazing Boldt Castle (start from the yacht house on Wellesley Island if you don't want to pay for the boat ride), and swimming on Wellesley Island to wrap up the day.

Day 6: Found a really nice place to stay in Ogdenburg, Stone Fence Resort. The next morning, we saw the Remington Museum and his terrific sculptures. From there, we saw the Eisenhower Lock/Dam at Massena lift a huge ship by 42 feet in seven minutes. Next, we drove to my old hometown of Malone. (We lived there when I was 9-13 years old. Many of my dreams have parts of that town as the backdrop!) We drove through Lake Placid and saw the ski jump site. We wanted to stay at Ft. Ticonderoga and then visit that the next AM, but there were no rooms there or in the next town. So, we moved on to Lake George for the night.

Day 7:Whitewater rafting (level 2-3 rapids) on the Sacandaga River. Plan A had been Ft. T and then rafting. Plan B started with rafting and finished with the Hyde Collection in Glen Falls (a good plan B, but probably not as good as plan A!)

Day 8: The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. That was terrific and I was happy to find that my desire to be there only lasted a bit longer than the rest of my family! From there, we drove to Ithaca.

Day 9: Hiking in Taughannock State Park (three sets of waterfalls)-- very nice. Brennan was stung by three bees and we had been worried that he might be allergic, but he didn't have any trouble (aside from discomfort). Then, hiking at Watkins Glen State Park-- as beautiful as anything I've ever seen. The combination of waterfalls, greenery, and rock were like something out of a movie. I thought I'd only see stuff like that in movies, this side of heaven, but it really exists-- at least there. (We also went swimming at a big pool at the south entrance to the park. Very nice!)

Finally, we only had 1.5 hours for the Museum of Glass in Corning. That needed at least another hour or so to do it right, but I'm glad we got to spend some time there. The invention and innovations within glass were spectacular. And some of the glass art was phenomenal. From there, we drove that evening to Johnstown, PA.

Day 10: We saw the flood memorial at South Fork (near Johnstown) and learned that David McCullough's first book had that as its topic. The "Inclined Plane" in Johnstown was amazing-- the steepest of its kind. We drove a few hours and saw a terrific ("unofficial") Legos museum in Bellaire, OH-- again, a must-see if you have kids and a terrific way to break up the drive back to Louisville.

It was a great trip. I would recommend most of it to couples without kids who love the outdoors (it would be terrific for a honeymoon or anniversary celebration)-- or for families with kids who can handle some hiking. I wouldn't bother going north of Alex Bay. (We did that so I could see my old hometown.) And even that might be too far north to be worth it. A worthy (and more leisurely) alternate would be to see Niagara Falls and then spend a big chunk of time in the Finger Lakes region.

The unintentional, over-arching theme was water-- from an amusement park on a peninsula jutting out into one of the Great Lakes to a National Park commemorating a flood that killed more than 2,000 people; from the small lock/dam with the Erie Canal to the large lock/dam at Massena and the St. Lawrence River; from waterfalls to glens; from driving over the world's largest covered bridge to white-water rafting.

About Me

First and foremost, I am saved by God's grace as manifested most clearly through the atoning death of Jesus Christ-- and thus, adopted into His family. As a result, I increasingly seek to extend His grace to others in my daily life. On the home front, I am a husband and father to four young men (two by adoption and two the more conventional way). Professionally, I am an economist who loves to teach and is active in public policy circles. Vocationally, I am an active writer and the author of three books (one on the book of Joshua; two on public policy-- one secular, one Christian). Finally, I am the co-author of a 21-month discipleship curriculum, Thoroughly Equipped (and a lighter 36-week version), for developing competent lay-leaders in the Church. Related to that work, Kurt and I have two books, Enough Horses in the Barn and Roll Up Your Sleeves.